Talk Wisdom's goal is to defend the tenets and values of Biblical Christian faith. We defend our Constitutional Republic and Charters of Freedom, especially when speaking out against destructive social and political issues. As followers of our Savior and Lord, we should boldly stand up for Jesus Christ in our present circumstances. He is our Savior, Lord, and King, and His love needs to be shed abroad in our hearts and in our world – now.

Archive for the ‘parable of wheat and tares’ Category

Have you ever listened to an honest song of grief and lament which can turn your heart back to joy? That is what I have found via the lyrics and redemptive message of “Torn” from Tenth Avenue North – a Contemporary Christian band. Do you know someone who might desperately need to hear this song’s message?

That is what happened to me during an hour and a half drive home last night. I have heard this song played many times (it’s in the WOW 2014 Greatest Hits CD), but one person – in particular – came to mind and I wanted to share it with him. But after going to the You tube site and seeing the 3,127,990 views of this video, I realized that there are probably hundreds of thousands who could benefit from hearing this song and understanding the lyrics pointing towards redemption of those with hurt lives and lost souls.

I have found that many people do not want to even talk about all of the evil, carnage, despair, and fear that is occurring these days here in America, and even more so all around the world.

Those who are willing to discuss what is happening as we catapult closer to the end times are often fellow Christians who know that “we are not of this world” and one day, the pain and suffering will end.

Those of us who have been redeemed by grace through faith – because of the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary – know that Jesus’ resurrection from the grave has provided proof of the hope and promise of salvation. Therefore, it is up to us to spread the Gospel message to those who are still under the grip of the evil one.

In the Book of Revelation, we get a description of one of the 7 churches; the church at Sardis:

Rev 3:1

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

Rev 3:2

“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. [fn]
Rev 3:3

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

Rev 3:4

“You [fn] have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

Within the church at Sardis, there were “tares” among the wheat of the saved. Today, there are some who think that they are saved because they attend church. But John wrote what “the Spirit says to the churches” on Patmos, and noted that some at the church of Sardis were dead. Others, were alive and told that “he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments and I [Jesus] will not blog out his name from the Book of Life.”

Rev 3:5

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Jesus also said (through John’s writings) that, “I [He] will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

So you see, there is no redemption without Christ!

Rev 3:6

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

Jhn 3:3

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jhn 3:7

“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

There are many great comments at the You tube site – real people whose grief/depression/struggles/deadness inside turned hearts previously torn and worn into mended souls!

Here are a few:

Tabitha Brooke 3 months ago

I love Tenth Avenue North and I can basically say this song saved my life. In 2013, I was depressed to the point I felt life didn’t have a purpose anymore. I was driving around at night, completely and utterly hopeless, flipping through the radio when this song played and I broke down and cried and it was like a hug from God and I listened to the words of this song and how closely they matched how I felt and let me tell you…redemption won, the struggle ended and God mended my heart. The song rose from the ashes of my broken heart and all that was dead inside was reborn and I am no longer worn. Thank you, Lord.

Aaron Bostelman

20 minutes ago

I used to think that Suicide was the answer, and it consumed my life. Parents that called me worthless all my life, drugs, smoking, abuse… All of it for satisfaction, and yet not one bit of it made me completely satisfied as I still had a missing gap in my heart. I too, was driving around in my car after I got the news of my Girlfriend that had killed herself. During an intersection I was hit by a drunk driver. I stepped out of my car covered in blood as well as a broken arm, and I just broke down right there on the spot. I cried so hard wishing I would die. Although I am still an Atheist, I am in fact reading the bible, and the more I read it, the more the gap in my heart is sealed. Just to let you know, you aren’t alone, and you certainly aren’t the person out there that has similar conflicts, Tabitha. Thanks for sharing!

Cynthia Scott 2 months ago

My brothers and sisters in Christ:

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE. JESUS WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.

This song expresses very real, raw emotions as we go through storms in life. Please listen, especially if you have been fighting through a storm for some time and are worn, let this song renew your strength and remind you Who will get you through the storms of life, especially now as we face more persecution then ever. JESUS CAN MEND A HEART THAT’S FRAIL AND TORN.

Being a blog author and administrator can oftentimes be quite a blessing, but at other times, it can be difficult.

Over the past few days, I have had quite a huge disagreement with an individual who started posting comments here about a week ago. I checked out his blog before releasing the first comment, and just the fact that he had a “boycott Israel” graphic on his sidebar alerted me to find out more about his ideas and motives. As I read some of the posts there, some of his beliefs were quite bizarre. I copied and posted a few of his comments at this link, however, he became even more enraged at me for not posting all of his writings. I can understand that, so I asked him about what he believes and posted what I believe about God, the Bible, humankind, eternity, Jesus Christ, salvation, the Holy Spirit, Spiritual gifts, and what it means to be born-again in Jesus Christ. He chose NOT to respond to my questions regarding whether or not he agreed and believed in the same doctrine presented. He also chose NOT to tell me whether or not he is a born-again Christian. Therefore, I left a final comment to him in that thread (link above).

This encounter has taught me a lesson. When a newcomer quotes lots of Scripture, yet makes claims against the Jewish people and Israel, I find it difficult to hold a good conversation with such a person. It is very questionable as to whether or not such an individual has proper motives.

In the past, (at my former blog) I have had trouble with bloggers who “didn’t get their way” in the comment section, so they proceeded to spam my comment pending box in revenge for ending their negative commentary. Because of this, I needed to switch back to approving all comments.

Here at Word Press, once a comment is approved the commenter’s future posts are automatically approved and released to the blog (unless there are 2 or more live links in the comment). Also, once a comment is approved, then the link back to the author’s blog appears on this site.

Here at Talk Wisdom, I wanted to avoid linking with leftist bloggers (even those who claim to be “Christian”) precisely because their skewed ideas and tortured “doctrine” could be damaging to those who come to this blog seeking the truth found in God’s Word.

I’m not a perfect person. Never claimed to be. But God’s Word is perfect and His Son, Jesus Christ is perfect. That is why I lean on doctrinal truth provided by the Bible and the words of the Person of Jesus Christ that are recorded in the Bible.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

2Ti 3:17

that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Jhn 7:16

Jesus [fn] answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

Even more importantly, what is taught needs to be SOUND doctrine!

2Ti 3:16

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

2Ti 4:3

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

Tit 1:9

holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

Tit 2:6

Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,

Tit 2:7

in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, [fn]

Tit 2:8

sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. [fn]

We have the warning in Scripture that people will have “itching ears” and thus not adhere to sound doctrine.

2Ti 4:2

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

2Ti 4:3

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

2Ti 4:4

and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

2Ti 4:5

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Like it or not – all born-again believers in Christ are evangelists!

Like it or not – we are to be ready “in season and out of season.”

2 Timothy 4:b instructs us to , “Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”

Yet, there is a time to “shake the dust off of your sandals” when a person rejects the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that you can move on to someone else who is searching for the truth.

Mat 10:14

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

Mar 6:11

“And whoever [fn] will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. [fn] Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

Luk 9:5

“And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

Mat 13:20

“But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

Mat 13:21

“yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

Mat 13:22

“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

Mat 13:23

“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

As Christian evangelists, we are to “plant the seed” through spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God does the rest! The verses in Matthew reveal the many ways that a person who hears the Gospel either “goes by the wayside,” or, “receives it with joy but only endures for while and then stumbles because of persecution,” or, “allows the word to be choked out because of the cares of this world and deceitfulness of riches.” All of these can cause a person to become unfruitful.

We may inquire further to discover what Jesus meant when he stated (in Matthew 13:23) “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it.”

David Guzik has a good commentary about that verse:

d. Good ground: As seed falling on good ground brings a good crop of grain (Matthew 13:8), so some respond rightly to the word and bear much fruit.

i. This soil represents those who receive the word, and it bears fruit in their soil – in differing proportions (some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty), though each has a generous harvest.

e. Therefore, hear the parable of the sower: We benefit from seeing bits of ourselves in all four soils. – Like the wayside, sometimes we allow the word no room at all in our lives. – Like the stony places, we sometimes have flashes of enthusiasm in receiving the word that quickly burn out. – Like the soil among thorns, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are constantly threatening to choke out God’s word and our fruitfulness. – Like the good ground, the word bears fruit in our lives.

i. We notice that the difference in each category was with the soil itself. The same seed was cast by the same sower. You could not blame the differences in results on the sower or on the seed, but only on the soil. “O my dear hearers, you undergo a test today! Peradventure you will be judging the preacher, but a greater than the preacher will be judging you, for the Word itself shall judge you.” (Spurgeon)

HT for graphic: media cache

Guzik goes on to reveal another aspect of this parable, and it has to do with “good soil” and ultimately asking ourselves, “what kind of soil am I?”

ii. The parable was also an encouragement to the disciples. Even though it might seem that few respond, God is in control and the harvest will certainly come. This was especially meaningful in light of the rising opposition to Jesus. “Not all will respond, but there will be some who do, and the harvest will be rich.” (France)

iii. “Who knoweth, O teacher, when thou labourest even among the infants, what the result of thy teaching may be? Good corn may grow in very small fields.” (Spurgeon)

iv. Even more than describing the mixed progress of the gospel message, the parable of the sower compels the listener to ask, “What kind of soil am I?”

Directly following the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells his listeners the Parable of the Tares and Wheat. This is why I needed to reject “Edom’s Thorn” when he commented here, and why I didn’t want to link to his blog.

B. Parables of corruption among the kingdom community.

1. (24-30) The parable of the wheat and the tares.

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”

a. His enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat: This parable describes the work of an enemywho tried to destroy the work of the man who sowed good seed in his field. The enemy’s purpose in sowing tares among the wheatwas to destroy the wheat. But the wise farmer would not allow the enemy to succeed. Instead, the farmer decided to sort it out at harvest time.

i. We note that this parable clearly describes corruption among the people of God. Just as in the previous parable, the wheat represents the people of God. Some corrupting influence is brought, and an influence that may look genuine even as tares may resemble real wheat.

ii. “The weeds are probably darnel, a poisonous plant related to wheat and virtually indistinguishable from it until the ears form.” (France)

b. Lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them: In the interest in preserving and protecting the wheat, the wise farmer did not separate the taresfrom the wheat until the time of harvest.

i. The wise farmer recognized that the ultimate answer to tares among the wheat would only come at the final harvest.

ii. Knowing the explanation of this parable as explained in Matthew 13:36-43, we understand why Jesus said it right after explaining the parable of the sower, especially with the seed that grew up among the thorns. “But one might ask whether the Messiah’s people should immediately separate the crop from the weeds; and this next parable answers the question negatively: there will be a delay in separation until the harvest.” (Carson)

The Bible

Click on image for Blue Letter Bible

Proverbs 2:2-5

"Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God"

About Christinewjc and this Talk Wisdom blog.

Married for 31 years to my wonderful husband! Two grown adult children and a son-in-law in whom we treasure and enjoy life.

Our family is very close and love to spend time with each other. We share a deep Christian faith, love for the Lord Jesus Christ and love for each other.

I earned a BA in education from Kean University in 1978. I have been studying the Bible for over 22 years and in 2003, upon successful completion of the course of study offered in the MA Lecture Series, earned a Christian Apologetics Certificate from Biola University.

This blog is named "Talk Wisdom" because one of the main purposes of writing here is to share the wisdom of God - the only absolute and true wisdom - that is contained within the Scriptures of the Bible. As a born-again Christian, it is my desire to heed and share Paul's encouragement and warnings in 2 Timothy 3:1-17

2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:17 - that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Talk Wisdom's goal is to defend the tenets and values of Biblical Christian faith. We defend our Constitutional Republic and Charters of Freedom, especially when speaking out against destructive social and political issues. As followers of our Savior and Lord, we should boldly stand up for Jesus Christ in our present circumstances. He is our Savior, Lord, and King, and His love needs to be shed abroad in our hearts and in our world – now.

A quote to remember!

“We are to be obedient to God and that means we are to fight against sin. Talking about not judging and loving each other does not absolve us from our duty to correct and — if necessary — censure those who refuse to obey God’s laws. If this were the case, then God would have had no reason to even give us a law: He would have just said do not judge, just love and left it at that — but He did not do this. Instead, He told us to obey, and then gave us at least ten commands. If we love each other — Biblical love — then we will do everything we can to help each other keep those commands, not make it easier to break them. After all, how can we claim to love someone if we are in the process of making their path to hell easier to travel?”
~ Black3Actual from Oil For Your Lamp blog

Talk Wisdom's goal is to defend the tenets and values of Biblical Christian faith. We defend our Constitutional Republic and Charters of Freedom, especially when speaking out against destructive social and political issues. As followers of our Savior and Lord, we should boldly stand up for Jesus Christ in our present circumstances. He is our Savior, Lord, and King, and His love needs to be shed abroad in our hearts and in our world - now.

Faith in Jesus Christ is our response to God's elective purpose in our life. These two truths--God's initiative and man's response--co-exist throughout the Bible. The gospel is "the message of truth" because truth is its predominant characteristic. Salvation was conceived by the God of truth (Ps. 31:5); purchased by the Son, who is the truth (John 14:6); and is applied by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). To know it is to know the truth that sets men free (John 8:32). Believers are people of the truth (John 18:37), who worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), and who obey the Word of truth (John 17:17). People have rejected, neglected, redefined, and opposed God’s truth for centuries. Some cynically deny that truth even exists or that it can be known by men (John 18:38). Others foolishly think that denying truth will somehow make it go away. Truth determines the validity of one's belief. Believing a lie doesn't make it true. Conversely, failing to believe the truth doesn't make it a lie. The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him. His resurrection proved the truth of His claims and constitutes the objective basis of our faith (Rom. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:3). Truth is our protection and strength (Eph. 6:14). Throughout history, people have tried everything imaginable to gain favor with God. Most turn to religion, but religion apart from Christ is merely a satanic counterfeit of the truth. At the heart of every false religion is the notion that man can come to God by any means he chooses--by meditating, doing good deeds, and so on. But Scripture says, "There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). That name is Jesus Christ, and we come to Him by confessing and repenting of our sin, trusting in His atoning death on the cross, and affirming His bodily resurrection from the grave (cf. Rom. 10:9-10). There is no other way to God. False religious leaders and teachers talk much about God’s love, but not His wrath and holiness; much about how deprived of good things people are, but not about their depravity; much about God’s universal fatherhood toward everyone, but not much about his unique fatherhood toward all who believe in His Son; much about what God wants to give to us, but nothing about the necessity of obedience to Him; much about health and happiness, but nothing about holiness and sacrifice. Their message is full of gaps, the greatest of which leaves out a biblical worldview of the saving gospel and replaces it with the worldview of postmodernism with its dominant ethical system of relativism. The Bible describes mankind in the end times: “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). Spiritual answers cannot be deduced by human reason alone (1 Cor. 2:14). It’s not that spiritual truth is irrational or illogical, but that human wisdom is defective, because it’s tainted by man’s sinfulness, and unable to perceive the things of God. That is why the Bible is so important. It gives us the answers we can’t find on our own. It is God’s Word to mankind. Scripture is divinely revealed truth that fills the vacuum of spiritual ignorance in all of us. Post-truth is the word of the year for 2016 and also the philosophy of the day, According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. In a “post-truth” world, people make choices based on emotion and experience rather than objective fact. So in a post-truth world, truth is irrelevant. What exactly is a post-truth culture? It’s a culture where truth is no longer an objective reality. It has become subjective. It’s what’s true for me—my beliefs, my opinions, determine my truth. So in our post-truth culture, man determines truth. Man makes himself the ultimate authority. This starting point, which rejects God’s Word and the idea of moral absolutes, makes truth subjective. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Christianity is grounded in objective truth. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Objective truth exists because we have God’s Word. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Thy word is truth” (John 17:17), and Paul and James describe the Bible as “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15; James 1:18). The Psalmist says, “The entirety of your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). Jesus Himself said, “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). When Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6), He wasn’t expressing His personal belief or opinion. He was speaking the truth, a fundamental reality that doesn’t change from person to person. It doesn’t matter if our culture thinks all roads lead to God. The truth of the matter is “no one comes to the Father but by [Jesus].” This blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." - George Orwell

"Our threat is from the insidious forces working from within which have already so drastically altered the character of our free institutions — those institutions we proudly called the American way of life. " -- Gen. Douglas MacArthur